Executors and Trustees in Malaysia

Your executor can generally also inherit under your Will. Receiving a gift does not remove their responsibility to deal with the estate properly. Choose someone you trust to handle disagreements as well as paperwork.

If that person will also be a trustee, have the arrangement checked separately. The only trustee of a trust must not also be its only beneficiary, the person entitled to benefit from it. Ask the person preparing your Will to check the trust arrangement and rules. This answer concerns non-Muslim Wills in Peninsular Malaysia; separate advice is needed for Sabah, Sarawak and Muslim estate planning.

Sources: Probate and Administration Act; 2025 Trustee Act amendment.

Your executor deals with your estate, the money and assets you leave when you die. They handle debts and distribute what remains under your Will. A trustee manages assets held for someone else's benefit under a trust. Their work may continue after the estate has been distributed.

When planning your Will, ask who is suited to each responsibility and whether they are willing to take it on. The person preparing your Will can explain how the roles fit together. This answer covers non-Muslim Wills in Peninsular Malaysia; get separate advice for Sabah, Sarawak or Muslim estate planning.

Sources: Probate and Administration Act; Trustee Act.

You can name more than one executor and plan for a substitute if someone cannot act. For non-Muslim Wills in Peninsular Malaysia, a grant of representation, the court's authority to deal with the estate, cannot cover more than four people for the same property. You do not need to choose four just because that is the limit.

Think about who will work well together and who could step in later. Ask the person preparing your Will to make clear who acts first and who is the backup, especially where trusts or young beneficiaries are involved. Get separate advice for Sabah, Sarawak or Muslim estate planning.

Source: Probate and Administration Act.

If your Will places an inheritance in trust for your child, the trustee manages those assets under the rules set out in the trust and the law. Where those rules and legal powers allow, income from the assets may pay for your child's living costs or education before the trust ends.

Ask the person preparing your Will to explain who will make spending decisions and when your child may have the right to receive the assets. This answer covers non-Muslim Wills in Peninsular Malaysia. The trust wording matters, and Sabah, Sarawak or Muslim estate planning may need different advice.

Source: Trustee Act.

Your Will does not automatically stop working because your chosen executor is unavailable. For a non-Muslim Will in Peninsular Malaysia, someone else named in the Will may be able to act. If no executor can act, the court can appoint someone to deal with the estate according to the Will.

While preparing your Will, discuss naming a backup with the person preparing it and ask that person whether they are willing to help. If someone has already died, get advice on the court application needed before anyone takes over. Different rules and procedures may apply in Sabah, Sarawak or Muslim estates.

Source: Probate and Administration Act.